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Drama

Today’s exercise is simple, write a list of one hundred things that you, personally, love. “Set aside one half hour. Settle yourself comfortably. Number from one to a hundred.” And then go. Below is my list. Cameron recommends we carry around this list in our pocket or desk drawer for when stress gets too high. It is an all too common problem for the world to see a peaceful writer and to want in on that peace. I am a firm believer in the laws of vacuums — that is, when your life doesn’t have drama, drama finds a way in, or you seek it out; when you think you have free time, finally, someone comes knocking at your door to take you away, or you make up unimportant things to distract yourself. The best thing to do, writes Cameron, is to exercise “immaculate detachment”; don’t pick sides between two friends who are fighting; don’t indulge any neediness; don’t invite drama into your life. When you find yourself being pulled in, disengage, and put it on the page.

1. Dance music

2. Making playlists

3. Hot tea

4. My plants

5. My mate gourds

6. Ripe mangoes

7. Sharing a good story

8. Reading

9. Making collages

10. TED

11. Drinking yerba mate

12. Tango

13. A clean room

14. Origami

15. Honesty

16. The sun at the beach

17. The color of leaves in autumn

18. A beer with lunch

19. Cooking

20. A good book found on the sidewalk

21. Surprises

22. Learning

23. Passion

24. Salt water

25. The time of day before dawn, el alba

26. Warm clothes fresh from the dryer

27. A good workout

28. Dancing alone

29. French toast

30. Smiles on strangers

31. The Legend of Zelda

32. Sticky notes from a long time ago, written and forgotten, but found

33. Empanadas de carne

34. Milaneses on Tuesday with my family

35. A good movie with my family

36. Facetime

37. Sleep, nine hours pref

38. A great unexpected conversation

39. A strong protagonist

40. The idea of love

41. My pin with the Argentine and American flag crossed

42. My grandmother’s vitel toné

43. Solitude

44. Trinkets

45. Language: foreign, internal

46. A midday nap, 10-20 mins

47. Road trips

48. Hugs that last just a little bit longer

49. Stretching

50. Running for more than 20 mins

51. Pens from different restaurants

52. A good performance, ballet or reading

53. Massage

54. Kokopeli

55. Big families

56. Intimate friends

57. The thin clean air of a mountain top

58. Hiking

59. My hiking boots

60. Skiing

61. Sailing

62. Health

63. Boyhood, the movie

64. Walking somewhere far, but not always

65. Humor

66. Smoothies with ice cream yogurt honey fruit and protein powder

67. The Rothko Chapel

68. Irish Coffee

69. A clean kitchen, house, bathroom

70. Mud

71. Spirit

72. New music

73. “Just Like Heaven” the Cure

74. “Levitation” Beach House

75. Winning

76. Forgiveness

77. Cuddle puddles

78. High fashion in real life

79. Soft skin

80. Plus one tickets

81. Museums

82. This

83. A big night sky full of stars

84. The idea of space travel

85. El principito

86. Kama Sutra

87. Derek Walcott’s line: “Sit. Feast on your life.”

88. My mother’s useless trinkets she gives away or keeps, how they pile up in various rooms of her home, end up in all of our closets, and sometimes travel with us back to our home as gifts